From Dust to Dust
by Osidiano
Summary: 50 sentences exploring the times and trials of the BOF3 cast throughout various points in the game. Done as a timed challenge against The Mad Poet.


Disclaimer/Note: I do not own the Breath of Fire games, or any of the characters mentioned in these drabbles. They belong to the series' creator and Capcom. I am not making any money from this, so please do not sue me. These scenes were written solely for my own amusement and that of anyone choosing to read it. They take place throughout the game, may contain some spoilers (why haven't you finished this game yet?). Some lines are funny, some are serious, and some may be total crack, but all are **unbeta'd**. Despite having attempted to beat The Mad Poet out during this time-challenge, that bastard still managed to win. What a jerk. Go read his, it's better. Anyway, enjoy.

**1fandom theme set (First)  
Fandom: Breath of Fire 3**

#1 – Mortal  
A part of them knows that they will never win because a part of them recognizes that this battle is about so much more than their own lives.

#2 – Broken  
Teepo winces at the sick wet popping crunch that the other boy's nose makes as their self-appointed caretaker sets it back into place; it's gross and makes him feel bad for getting into the fight, but he knows that he was right and can't say he's sorry.

#3 – Vanish  
The Brood, the Windians, the Guardians. . . Ryu looks out over the sands of the ever-expanding desert, wondering if the Goddess really notices the things that make them different before they disappear.

#4 – Rain  
Her wings have a special gossamer sheen, are delicate and pretty and too thin to stand much battering; the whole party slows to a stop when the wind and rain gets too much for the princess.

#5 – Ocean  
Ryu stares at the wide expanse of blue, awestruck by the idea that there could be an even bigger world with wilder adventures on the other side.

#6 – Tense  
Everything about the big Guardian is hard, rock-solid and deadly, except for the way he holds his small charges and prayer beads.

#7 – Soon  
Teepo knows that they're coming: he can see them struggle through each level of the tower, is watching his childhood friend throw away the Goddess he gave up everything for – it hurts to think that the end is near.

#8 – Why  
He knows that it is the last of the Brood, and that makes it evil and bad and wrong in every way that matters, but when it bleeds and cries and dreams like a child, Garr can't help but wonder.

#9 – Winter  
When he was alone, Rei didn't mind the cold or the hunger that came with the winter months; now that he has someone to look after, he finds himself dreading the end of every harvest.

#10 – Fallen  
The body drops, and for a few brief moments, Ryu is so lost in the moment that he cannot think, or scream, or breathe.

#11 – Storm  
Outside, the world is in turmoil, but huddled close to one another in that rickety old treehouse, Ryu feels that there is no place safer than here with his new family.

#12 – Door  
The sound of metal clanking on metal, of pistons hissing and small engines exploding, ensures that no one dares knock on Momo's door when she is working.

#13 – Flash  
It is fire and chilly death coursing through his veins; it is neither good nor evil, but only power that surges forth when he calls upon his heritage.

#14 – Wait  
"We have a plan, don't we?"

#15 – Shrine  
There are vines covering the remains of old statues, effigies overgrown by the burden of time and neglect; Ryu wonders what kind of prayers used to be offered up to these dead Gods.

#16 – Black  
For a moment, no one can recognize her beneath the thick layer of soot, but Honey darts out from behind her, beeping angrily, and suddenly everyone knows that these dark smears are just evidence of Momo's miscalculations.

#17 – Lost  
When he does not return from that temple with Garr, Nina cries and calls the Guardian terrible names; she pounds on his stomach with her small fists until her hands ache and her heart feels numb.

#18 – Cell  
"We could stay here with her forever if we just gave up. . ." Teepo murmurs, more to himself than the blue-haired stranger his friend has grown up to be, ignoring the accusation that the tower is just another prison.

#19 – Villain  
"I don't care what anyone says . . . I know who and what you are."

#20 – Road  
The main road is long and dusty and boring, and Ryu can think of few things he liked doing more than waiting alongside it with Rei and Teepo, back in simpler times.

#21 – Weep  
He holds the body close, afraid that letting go might mean losing him all over again.

#22 – Blind  
He isn't sure which he regrets more: that he followed the will of the Goddess for so long, or that he had wavered and questioned Her after all that time.

#23 – Pact  
They are brothers, they decide, and that's that.

#24 – Flight  
Nina can hover, but only just a bit – she used to wonder if her ancestors knew how much they would change over the years when they married outside the normal avenues, or if it simply hadn't occurred to anyone that the Windians could lose their wings.

#25 – Hard  
Seeing that boy call out the Kaiser was never something Garr would get used to.

#26 – War  
There was death everywhere, the bodies of the Brood stretching out for miles, long dragon hides and soft human forms littering every battlefield, shattered egg shells crunching beneath their feet.

#27 – Deed  
She didn't need anyone to tell her that he was a hero.

#28 – Unknown  
"But. . .what happens _after_?"

#29 – Deep  
There was always more strength to be found within him.

#30 – Sudden  
The way the guards had been looking at them changed in an instant, from suspicious glares to stammering apologies the moment the word "daughter" had left Garr's mouth.

#31 – Dread  
No amount of trash-talking could quell the heavy sinking feeling in Teepo's gut every time he heard that tell-tale yowl of Rei getting caught.

#32 – Burn  
With the treehouse and Teepo gone, one blackened and the other missing, it felt like losing everything.

#33 – Clock  
Gears and gadgets and strange whatsits that didn't make any sense at all littered the table's surface, leaving Rei to ponder why Momo would ever need to know the exact length of a moment in the first place.

#34 – Words  
Ryu didn't use a lot of them very often.

#35 – Fast  
Rei got his speed and strength from being a member of the Woren clan, but it was too bad he couldn't have inherited any luck or grace with those.

#36 – Three  
It was a few years after everyone parted that Ryu realized he didn't feel comfortable traveling in groups of less than three anymore.

#37 – Place  
They had been all over the world and he still longed for the forest outside of McNeil village.

#38 – Irony  
She supposed that it was only fitting that the savior of the world as they knew it, the last of his kind, turned out to be completely asexual.

#39 – Sky  
"The wings, the tail. . . that is definitely a dragon," Teepo stated with a sage nod as he pointed out the cloud shape in question, grinning when he noticed the wide eyed stare of his quiet companion.

#40 – Closet  
It would later turn out that closets were not, apparently, the "best hiding places ever," despite what Ryu's gut told him.

#41 – Real  
He laughed at first, thinking that Nina was joking, but when she informed him that she wasn't, Ryu was suddenly and truly at a loss for words.

#42 – Fair  
It was cruel to make him choose who to leave behind, who to give up; in the end, the only solution was to submit himself.

#43 – Knot  
He had fought for everyone because he had nothing: halfway through, he realized they were all connected, all tangled up in each other, and that he had always had them.

#44 – Low  
Nina had certain expectations for a place that produced heroes like Ryu; he tried to get her to lower her opinions prior to visiting to avoid disappointment.

#45 – Well  
"It's not going fix itself, you know."

#46 – Token  
It meant nothing, and it meant everything all at once.

#47 – Ugly  
It wasn't that she was ugly, or whiny, or childish even after all they had been through – he just really didn't care.

#48 – Lure  
In the days after Maria's fall, Ryu spent most of his time fishing, just watching the lure bob up and down in the water as he mulled over the past and his uncertain future.

#49 – Drink  
It tasted like acid and motor oil, but Momo swore up and down that this was the "good stuff" if you just ignored the after burn and hangover.

#50 – Dust  
He left no bones, no giant and archaic fossil to be found years later; when he finally passed, he was simply added to the dust and sand in the desert.


End file.
